Sig Christenson: A ship with an expired warranty

One of the more interesting revelations of a Navy Board of Inspection and Survey report on the USS San Antonio is that the ship had a warranty.

And that it expired in April 2006 — four months after the Navy got the San Antonio from its builder, Northrup Grumman Corp.

“They didn’t even get 100,000 miles or three years,” one defense expert laughed.

A lot of us might wonder how long the warranty ran, but not retired Marine Col. Bob Work, who has watched the development of the San Antonio for many years now.

What he wants to know is why the Navy accepted the ship in the first place when it had so many obvious problems.

He isn’t alone.

“I don’t think the Navy was compelled to accept it if it had this many problems,” said Work, a supporter of the San Antonio. “That’s the mystery to me.”

The Navy isn’t talking. Neither is Northup Grumman, which issued a long, one-paragraph statement that its spokesman said stood as a “blanket response” to a list of questions I submitted earlier this week.

What we do know is that the “inserv” report looks bad.

In a report made prior to the inspection, the captain said there were 108 “significant” material and logistics deficiencies. Virtually half of them, the report said, “listed no clear path for correction or resolution.”

In short, the Navy doesn’t quite know how it’s going to make things right.

There are serious problems with the San Antonio. The ship cannot produce enough water for all 1,059 sailors and Marines on board when they’re at sea. The three reverse osmosis machines on board were either inoperative or not performing to specifications.

Two of three vehicle ramps were inoperative. Worse, 14 of 20 exhaust fans in the well deck and vehicle storage areas were inoperative, inspectors said, and all 26 vehicle exhaust hose extensions weren’t where they should have been – on the ship.

That means anyone in those areas risks carbon monoxide poisoning while doing their jobs.

Even the ship’s air-conditioning system was a mess during the inspection. Just two of seven air-conditioning units were ready to operate during the trial.

Why is that important? Outside of crew safety and comfort, the air-conditioning units also cool the ship’s electronic systems, which don’t work well when it gets hot.

There’s more. The report said cargo elevators and dumbwaiters weren’t safe because of safety, design and maintenance issues. It went on to say that one set of pipes was smaller than the required three-fourths of an inch.

One expert I talked with said it appears all of the ship’s cargo elevators and dumbwaiters, which move ordnance for the Marines and the San Antonio’s defense systems, were deemed unsafe. The thickness of piping is important because ruptures can occur if the metal is too thin, exposing sailors and Marines to toxic substances and even fires.

Talk about trouble. Some of the ship’s most critical systems don’t work. Others are potential hazards.

One of my questions to the Navy: When can we expect the San Antonio to join the fleet at sea?

Two people familiar with San Antonio saga wonder something else that begs for an answer: If the Navy knew that this ship had so many problems, why didn’t they ask for a longer warranty?